Essay: America's sewage system is better than Russia's TERRIBLE sewage system

Russian social stability is threatened by a lack of indoor toilets in rural areas? Russian commentators are divided!^[1]

Russian rural residents unite! You have nothing to lose but your outhouses!

Previously, I wrote the essay at: Russian Statistics Service indicates that 22.6 percent of Russian households aren't connected to a sewer system

Question: Is America's sewage system better than Russia's sewage system? You be the judge!

Russia's sewage system is the worst in the developed world

"According to data put out by the Russian Statistics Service 22.6 percent of Russian households aren't connected to a sewer system, most of them in rural areas. Russian commentators are divided about how vital an achievement modern toilets are." - What do outdoor toilets tell us about Russia?, Euro Topics Press Review, April 3, 2019

Moscow Times, April 2, 2022: Indoor Plumbing Still a Pipe Dream for 20% of Russian Households, Reports Say: "Russia leads the developed world with the worst sanitation record, according to the London-based WaterAid NGO. A 2012 estimate citing official data placed the number of Russians whose households are only equipped with outhouses at 35 million, or roughly a quarter of the population."

UA News reported in 2019 in their news article Nearly one quarter of Russians lack access to sewerage systems: "In modern Russia, 22.6% of the population does not have access to centralized sewerage systems, according to a survey performed by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) in September 2018. The investigation into the quality of life in Russia showed that most of these families (16.8%) use a pipe to a pit latrine, and 5.8% of Russians simply lack any sewerage system."

Indoor plumbing and sewage facts about Russia

According to an article about the indoor plumbing and sewage system problem in Russia:

“

First place: Russia has the largest population share of any developed nation with no access to indoor plumbing

Family values: 45% of Russian families with multiple children are not connected to centralized sewage systems

Fetid water: 88% of wastewater does not meet purification requirements, but gets dumped into Russian waterways nonetheless

Why are these numbers so high? It’s mainly due to endemic social issues: high poverty levels, the slow decay of rural villages, high tariffs placed on dwindling remote populations, and a lack of municipal rights are all contributing factors.^[2]

”

"Sewer systems in Russia have been neglected for decades. Many citizens do not even have access to working water closets, and some public infrastructure has literally collapsed due to unmaintained sewage lines. However unattractive this fact may be, it should be taken seriously as it attests to wider societal problems in Russia." - Russia’s strange acceptance of the sewage pit, New Eastern Europe website, 2019

Russia soldiers steal Ukrainian toilets during the war in Ukraine

The flag of Russia

Financial Times, 2023: "When, for example, Russian troops invaded at Irpin and Bucha, close to Kyiv, they were shocked to see, in ordinary Ukrainian homes, huge televisions, high-quality washing machines and dryers, computers, internal toilets and other goods that are luxuries for them.

So they killed Ukrainian inhabitants, not just to carry out Vladimir Putin’s orders, but to steal their possessions and take them back to Russia."^[3]

Russia's labor shortage: Blue-collar workers are especially in short supply. Is it causing a shortage of plumbers in Russia?

The Center for European Policy Analysis reported on March 9, 2024:

“

Towards the end of last year, experts from the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences estimated that Russia faced a shortfall of nearly 5 million workers in 2023, which is already impeding economic growth. The total workforce is a little under 74 million.

With perhaps a million Russians, including many working-age men, having fled the country, with more than 300,000 dead or wounded in Ukraine, with more than a million men in the military, and a fertility rate of 1.5 — far below the so-called replacement rate of 2.1 — the country simply cannot meet its needs.

The head of the Central Bank is among those describing it as the country’s most serious problem, hardly surprising when unemployment is just 2.9% and the vacancy rate is 6.8%.

This scarcity is particularly pronounced in the manufacturing, construction, and transportation sectors. According to recruitment agencies and company management, the workforce deficit will worsen in 2024.

Beyond skilled professionals, Russia struggles to meet even basic labor demands, including those for military purposes. Increasingly, schoolchildren and students are being enlisted for war-related tasks. Just last week, a major investigation revealed how minors as young as 14 are involved in activities for the “Mayor’s Labor Unit” in Krasnoyarsk, weaving camouflage nets and preparing parcels for frontline needs.^[4]

”

Is there a shortage of plumbers in Russia? Look closely at the below graphic. Blue-collar workers are especially in short supply in Russia.

For more information, please see: Russia's labor shortage

Baltic Sea states aghast at Russian exclave's sewage dumping

Baltic Sea States Aghast At Russian Exclave's Sewage Dumping, Radio Free Europe, 2019

A tale of two regions: Alaska vs. Russia and indoor toilet household percentages. Why does Alaska have a higher percentage of people with indoor toilets?

Question to Grok: How much of Russia's rural lack of indoor toilets problem is due to permafrost? I ask because Alaska has a better rate of indoor toilets. Discuss the rural vs. city issue in Russia and Alaska related to the issue too. Why does Russia have a smaller percentage of its citizens having indoor toilets than Alaska? Give a summary section of at least 5 sentences and give a causal factor percentage to why Russia has a lower rate of indoor toilets than Alaska.

Summary:

"Russia's rural indoor toilet crisis affects 50-65% of its 37 million rural residents, far outpacing Alaska's 20-25% unplumbed rural rate among 250,000 people, due to a mix of permafrost challenges and broader neglect. While urban access is high in both (90%+), Russia's sprawling 26% rural population drags the national average to 92%, versus Alaska's 96%, as resources concentrate in cities like Moscow. Permafrost, covering 65% of Russia, explains 30-40% of rural barriers by destabilizing pipes and raising costs, but economic decay—post-Soviet closures of 20,000 rural sites and 50% utility budget cuts—accounts for the majority. Alaska counters similar thaw with $440 million in 2024 federal grants, boosting rural plumbing 75% since the 1980s through tribal programs. Overall, Russia's lower rate reflects policy choices favoring urban elites over remote villages, exacerbating health risks like infections for 30 million without sewage.

Causal Factor Breakdown for Russia's Lower Rate (Estimated based on Rosstat, World Bank, and permafrost studies):

Rural population scale and density: 40%
Economic underinvestment/poverty: 30%
Permafrost/environmental barriers: 20%
Historical/infrastructural legacy: 10%."

America’s Sewage System Is Stronger Than Russia’s—But the Washington, D.C. Spill Shows Why Complacency Is Dangerous

America’s Sewage System Is Stronger Than Russia’s—But the Washington, D.C. Spill Shows Why Complacency Is Dangerous

The verdict is in: America's sewage system is better than Russia's TERRIBLE sewage system

About 2 million people in the USA lack indoor plumbing. In 2022, the United States had a population of 333.3 million people.

Ergo, this means that less than 1% of Americans lack indoor plumbing.

About 22.6 percent of Russian households aren't connected to a sewer system.

This means that the USA is 20 times better than Russia when it comes to households not having indoor plumbing.

Western countries with excellent sewage systems

The Western countries of Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden, are countries with some of the most advanced sewage systems in the world

See also: Western civilization

The Western countries of Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden, are countries with some of the most advanced sewage systems in the world.

Why is the West so advanced and successful?

In the above map, the Western World regions of the world are colored light blue.

There are countries in Asia that have adopted much of Western values such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

The above graphic comes from the video Why the West Won’t Collapse with Stephen Kotkin (Stephen Kotkin is an American historian, academic, and author.)

See also: Why has the West been so successful?